 |
|
Belly fat may drive inflammatory processes associated with disease
March 14, 2007As scientists learn more about the key role of inflammation in diabetes, heart disease and other disorders, new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that fat in the belly may be an important promoter of that inflammation.
Excess fat is known to be associated with disease, but now the researchers have confirmed that fat cells inside the abdomen are secreting molecules that increase inflammation. It's the first evidence of a potential mechanistic link between abdominal fat and systemic inflammation.
For years, scientists have been aware of a relationship between disease risk and excess belly fat. "Apple-shaped" people, who carry fat in the abdomen, have a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes and other problems than "pear-shaped" people, who tend to store fat in the hips and thighs. Too much abdominal fat is associated with a defect in the body's response to insulin. During medical exams, some physicians measure waist circumference to identify patients at increased risk for these problems.
Not just any belly fat will cause inflammation, however. Back in 2004, Washington University investigators found that removing abdominal fat with liposuction did not provide the metabolic benefits normally associated with similar amounts of fat loss induced by dieting or exercising.
"Despite removing large amounts of subcutaneous fat from beneath the skin — about 20 percent of a person's total body fat mass — there were no beneficial medical effects," says Samuel Klein, M.D., the Danforth Professor of Medicine and Nutritional Science and the senior investigator on both studies. "These results demonstrated that decreasing fat mass by surgery, which removes billions of fat cells, does not provide the metabolic benefits seen when fat mass is reduced by lowering calorie intake, which shrinks the size of fat cells and decreases the amount of fat inside the abdomen and other tissues."
In this new study, researchers looked instead at visceral fat — the fat that surrounds the organs in the gut. Unlike subcutaneous fat, visceral fat is not easy to remove surgically because it is very close to the intestines and other internal organs. Since they couldn't just take out the fat, the research team decided to analyze the blood that ran through it to determine whether visceral fat was involved in inflammation or whether, like subcutaneous fat, it was merely a marker of potential problems.
Reporting in the journal Diabetes, the research team says visceral fat likely contributes to increases in systemic inflammation and insulin resistance. They sampled blood from the portal vein in obese patients undergoing gastric bypass surgery and found that visceral fat in the abdomen was secreting high levels of an important inflammatory molecule called interleukin-6 (IL-6) into portal vein blood.
"The portal vein is filled with blood that drains visceral fat," says first author Luigi Fontana, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine at Washington University in St. Louis and an investigator at the Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Rome, Italy. "Portal vein blood had levels of IL-6 that were 50 percent higher than blood from the periphery."
Increased IL-6 levels in the portal vein correlated with concentrations of an inflammatory substance called C-reactive protein (CRP) in the body. High CRP levels are related to inflammation, and chronic inflammation is associated with insulin resistance, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis, among other things.
"These data support the notion that visceral fat produces inflammatory cytokines that contribute to insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease," says Klein.
Klein, Fontana and J. Christopher Eagon, M.D., assistant professor of surgery, looked at blood samples from 25 patients. All were extremely obese, and all were undergoing gastric bypass surgery. They took blood from the portal vein and from the radial artery in the arm and found differences in levels of IL-6 between the samples.
Fontana believes the findings help explain how visceral fat can lead to inflammation, insulin resistance and other metabolic problems. And he says by contributing to inflammation, visceral fat cells in the abdomen may be doing even more than that.
"Many years ago, atherosclerosis was thought to be related to lipids and to the excessive deposit of cholesterol in the arteries," Fontana says. "Nowadays, it's clear that atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease. There also is evidence that inflammation plays a role in cancer, and there is even evidence that it plays a role in aging. Someday we may learn that visceral fat is involved in those things, too."
Washington University School of Medicine
Not just any belly fat will cause inflammation, however. Back in 2004, Washington University investigators found that removing abdominal fat with liposuction did not provide the metabolic benefits normally associated with similar amounts of fat loss induced by dieting or exercising.
"Despite removing large amounts of subcutaneous fat from beneath the skin — about 20 percent of a person's total body fat mass — there were no beneficial medical effects," says Samuel Klein, M.D., the Danforth Professor of Medicine and Nutritional Science and the senior investigator on both studies. "These results demonstrated that decreasing fat mass by surgery, which removes billions of fat cells, does not provide the metabolic benefits seen when fat mass is reduced by lowering calorie intake, which shrinks the size of fat cells and decreases the amount of fat inside the abdomen and other tissues."
In this new study, researchers looked instead at visceral fat — the fat that surrounds the organs in the gut. Unlike subcutaneous fat, visceral fat is not easy to remove surgically because it is very close to the intestines and other internal organs. Since they couldn't just take out the fat, the research team decided to analyze the blood that ran through it to determine whether visceral fat was involved in inflammation or whether, like subcutaneous fat, it was merely a marker of potential problems.
Reporting in the journal Diabetes, the research team says visceral fat likely contributes to increases in systemic inflammation and insulin resistance. They sampled blood from the portal vein in obese patients undergoing gastric bypass surgery and found that visceral fat in the abdomen was secreting high levels of an important inflammatory molecule called interleukin-6 (IL-6) into portal vein blood.
"The portal vein is filled with blood that drains visceral fat," says first author Luigi Fontana, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine at Washington University in St. Louis and an investigator at the Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Rome, Italy. "Portal vein blood had levels of IL-6 that were 50 percent higher than blood from the periphery."
Increased IL-6 levels in the portal vein correlated with concentrations of an inflammatory substance called C-reactive protein (CRP) in the body. High CRP levels are related to inflammation, and chronic inflammation is associated with insulin resistance, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis, among other things.
"These data support the notion that visceral fat produces inflammatory cytokines that contribute to insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease," says Klein.
Klein, Fontana and J. Christopher Eagon, M.D., assistant professor of surgery, looked at blood samples from 25 patients. All were extremely obese, and all were undergoing gastric bypass surgery. They took blood from the portal vein and from the radial artery in the arm and found differences in levels of IL-6 between the samples.
Fontana believes the findings help explain how visceral fat can lead to inflammation, insulin resistance and other metabolic problems. And he says by contributing to inflammation, visceral fat cells in the abdomen may be doing even more than that.
"Many years ago, atherosclerosis was thought to be related to lipids and to the excessive deposit of cholesterol in the arteries," Fontana says. "Nowadays, it's clear that atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease. There also is evidence that inflammation plays a role in cancer, and there is even evidence that it plays a role in aging. Someday we may learn that visceral fat is involved in those things, too."
Washington University School of Medicine
Inflammation Current Events and Inflammation News RSSSurface bacteria maintain skin's healthy balance
On the skin's surface, bacteria are abundant, diverse and constant, but inflammation is undesirable. Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine now shows that the normal bacteria living on the skin surface trigger a pathway that prevents excessive inflammation after injury.
Toward explaining why hepatitis B hits men harder than women
Scientists in China are reporting discovery of unusual liver proteins, found only in males, that may help explain the long-standing mystery of why the hepatitis B virus (HBV) sexually discriminates -- hitting men harder than women.
Women at risk from vitamin A deficiency
Almost half of UK women could be suffering from a lack of vitamin A due to a previously undiscovered genetic variation, scientists at Newcastle University have found.
Can EP4 agonist alleviate gastric lesions?
Over 300 million patients use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the world to treat pain, arthritis, fever and other diseases. Nearly 30% of the users suffer from gastric lesions and bleeding.
Immune system activated in schizophrenia
Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have discovered that patients with recent-onset schizophrenia have higher levels of inflammatory substances in their brains. Their findings offer hope of being able to treat schizophrenia with drugs that affect the immune system.
Largest gene study of childhood IBD identifies 5 new genes
In the largest, most comprehensive genetic analysis of childhood-onset inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), an international research team has identified five new gene regions, including one involved in a biological pathway that helps drive the painful inflammation of the digestive tract that characterizes the disease.
Tiny particles can deliver antioxidant enzyme to injured heart cells
Researchers at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed microscopic polymer beads that can deliver an antioxidant enzyme made naturally by the body into the heart.
New study links vitamin D deficiency to cardiovascular disease and death
While mothers have known that feeding their kids milk builds strong bones, a new study by researchers at the Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City suggests that Vitamin D contributes to a strong and healthy heart as well - and that inadequate levels of the vitamin may significantly increase a person's risk of stroke, heart disease, and death, even among people who've never had heart disease.
Aileron collaborates study in Nature: Stapled peptides inhibit Notch1 transcription factor
This research validates the potential for Stapled Peptides to modulate key intracellular biological targets, such as transcription factors, that have not been addressable with current small molecule or biologic drug modalities.
Exposure to several common infections over time may be associated with risk of stroke
Cumulative exposure to five common infection-causing pathogens may be associated with an increased risk of stroke, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the January 2010 print issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
More Inflammation Current Events and Inflammation News Articles
 |
The Inflammation Syndrome: The Complete Nutritional Program to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, Arthritis, Diabetes, Allergies, and Asthma by Jack Challem (Author) "Challem’s new book hits a home run — with the latest research on what to eat and take to defeat our real number-one cause of health problems — inflammation. It’s a message of the utmost importance." –Jean Carper New York Times bestselling author of Stop Aging Now! and Your Miracle Brain, columnist for USA Weekend magazine What is the Inflammation Syndrome? It’s the cumulative effect of low-grade inflammation–including the aches and pains we all experience–that grows into chronic debilitating disease. This book, the first major book on the syndrome, reveals the powerful role that inflammation plays in a wide variety of common health conditions–from simple aches and pains to heart disease, obesity, diabetes, Syndrome X, arthritis, asthma, and... |
 |
The Anti-Inflammation Diet and Recipe Book: Protect Yourself and Your Family from Heart Disease, Arthritis, Diabetes, Allergies ? and More by N.D. Jessica K. Black (Author) The connection between inflammation and heart disease, arthritis, and other chronic ailments has become increasingly clear. Many food allergies and poor dietary choices overstimulate the immune system and cause inflammatory responses that erode the body’s wellness and pave the path for ill health. Based on her naturopathic practice, Jessica Black has devised a complete program for how to eat and cook to minimize and even prevent inflammation and its consequences. The first part of the book explains the benefits of the anti-inflammatory diet with an accessible discussion of the science behind it. The second half contains 108 recipes. The author offers many substitution suggestions and includes a healthy ingredient tip with each recipe. Most of the dishes can be prepared quickly and... |
 |
The Optimal Health Revolution: How Inflammation Is the Root Cause of the Biggest Killers and How the Cutting-edge Sceince of Nutrigenomics Can Transform Your Long-term Health by Duke Johnson (Author) Science is coming to a startling realization. The bulk of our most lethal diseases have a common underlying cause: persistent inflammation. Inflammation is an overactive reaction of our natural immune system function that results in cell and tissue destruction. This persistent inflammation is triggered by our industrial lifestyles, including exposure to chemicals, synthetic food ingredients, pollution and processed foods. "Researchers are linking inflammation to an ever-wider array of chronic illnesses," reports Newsweek's Anne Underwood. "Suddenly medical puzzles seem to be fitting together, such as why hypertension puts patients at increased risk of Alzheimer's, or why rheumatoid-arthritis sufferers have higher rates of sudden cardiac death. They're all connected on some fundamental... |
 |
Stopping Inflammation: Relieving the Cause of Degenerative Diseases by Nancy, Ph.D. Appleton (Author), G. N. Jacobs (Author) |
 |
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Anti-Inflammation Diet by M.D., Christopher P. Cannon (Author), Elizabeth Vierck (Author) Extinguish inflammation now. New research shows that abnormal inflammation may be linked to a variety of diseases and conditions. In this book, you will find what diseases and conditions are caused by inflammation, which foods reduce inflammation and which foods contribute to inflammation, and how to tweak today’s diets to make them anti-inflammatory. |
 |
The Inflammation Cure: Simple Steps for Reversing heart disease, arthritis, asthma, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, osteopor by William Meggs (Author), Carol Svec (Author) "In addition to explaining inflammation's causes and its role in various diseases, the author offers advice--'an antiinflammation game plan'--on how to maintain 'inflammation balance' and feel better."--The New York Times In clear, everyday language, William Meggs, M.D., explains what causes inflammation, its relationship to disease in the body, and what steps readers can take to minimize their risk. |
 |
Win the War Within: The Eating Plan That's Clinically Proven to Fight Inflammation - The Hidden Cause of Weight Gain and Chronic Disease by Floyd H. Chilton (Author) Win the War Within gives you one rapid, yet powerful solution for virtually every health problem and major disease that you may face in your lifetime. And it doesn?t just mask the symptoms, it helps eliminate the root cause for over 30 chronic and even deadly ailments-naturally. |
 |
Witch Hazel Salve 4 oz. - Natural Inflammation Relief by WiseWays Herbals Use for relief of swollen or painful vaicose veins, hemorrhoids, or rectal irritations, especially during pregnancy or postpartum. |
 |
Stop Inflammation Now! by Richard Fleming (Author) An innovative cardiologist reveals the twelve main causes of heart attack and stroke, and presents his breakthrough plan to restore heart health. In this groundbreaking book, nuclear cardiologist and research scientist Dr. Richard M. Fleming exposes the devastating impact of arterial inflammation on the heart and what can be done to douse the fire within. Arterial inflammation triggers a dangerous chain reaction, wreaking havoc throughout the body. Dr. Fleming's action plan explains which tests your doctor should be performing to assess heart disease risk and tells why an angiogram is not always an accurate indicator of heart health. He also reveals a complete picture of the twelve causes of inflammation and how to defeat them. Dr. Fleming's unique two-step program... |
 |
The Inflammation-Free Diet Plan by Monica Reinagel (Author) A revolutionary diet to help you lose weight and control disease-causing inflammation The Inflammation-Free Diet Plan will help you achieve your ideal weight--without fad dieting--while also reducing pain and allergies, slowing the aging process, and dramatically reducing your risk for dozens of medical problems. This flexible, easy-to-follow program is the ideal nutritional solution for every member of the family. At the heart of the program is the revolutionary IF Rating system that, for the first time, tells you the inflammatory or anti-inflammatory effects of all of the foods you eat. The IF Rating integrates more than twenty different nutritional factors, including essential fatty acids, glycemic index, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and... |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |